New Delhi: Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has said the unavailability of data is the main reason why the government has not been able to announce a stimulus package for coronavirus-stricken businesses, including MSMEs.
Garg, in a blog post, said there is an urgent need to assign a unique ID to each business as it would help in collecting vital economic performance data and facilitate linking of all bank accounts of a business to that ID.
"Principal reason for inability of the government to announce any survival and revival package, even for MSMEs, is the unavailability of business, value-added, number of labours employed, loss of output and profit data.There is an urgent need to establish the system of unique business ID and link significant business data with this," he said.
The government on March 26 had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus that included free foodgrain and cooking gas to poor for three months. It also had cash doles to vulnerable class including women and poor.
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